AN: So I was watching The Originals 5x11, at Freya and Keelin's wedding. And Elijah and Klaus didn't have a date. And my trash-ass was like "Hey! Klaroline and Kalijah!" And then I was like "Hey! Kennett!" And this just sort of happened. Set after TO Season 4, but I've made adjustments to canon. (Mainly, Stefan isn't dead bc Katherine didn't need to die. Klaus can be with his daughter because Freya took the magic instead.) Enjoy!

Caroline

Caroline wondered if her emotions had turned themselves off without her even noticing. Perhaps her humanity had just had enough of her and ran away. Because she felt nothing, but it wasn't intentional.

No, she'd had her humanity off and this felt different. She still loved her daughters with all her heart; she still had this urge to do the right thing. But she wasn't crying, and she should be. Stefan looked like he might. Caroline just felt hollow. Empty.

Maybe not humanity-less, but miserably depressed.

Her pen hovered over the paper for just a few seconds before she took a deep breath and reminded herself to be strong. Then she signed it and slipped it across to Stefan, who signed it as well.

"So… that's it?" She asked. They sat alone, just the two of them. They'd decided against bringing lawyers to the table but the room was bussing with them, if they were needed.

"We are officially divorced," Stefan said with a nod.

What the hell did she say now?!

They both loved each other very much, but after he was cured and human… it was never going to work out between them. They only went through with the wedding to try and lure Katherine out and kill her, but the bitch only wanted her freedom so the ceremony was wasted.

"You have been one of the best friends I've ever had," she admitted, honestly.

"You too, Caroline," Stefan returned. He picked up the stack of papers and got to his feet, nodding to one of the lawyers waiting for them. "I'll take these to the office."

Caroline stood up as well and hung her bag from her shoulder. "Have a nice human life, Stefan," she said, kissing his cheek before walking past him and heading for the glass doors. Every muscle in her neck was twitching, trying to get her to turn around and see him again.

But she couldn't look back. Only partly because her eyes started to heat up like she might cry, but partly because not looking back was the first step of moving forward.

The second step? Buy two bottles of wine and sit on the top of a hill, overlooking the lights of the town and trying to forget she was still alive.

She turned her phone on silent and drank straight from the bottle as the afternoon turned to evening. For so long, Stefan had seemed like her endgame. The man who might actually stay with her. Matt left, Tyler left, Alaric… well that was never a real relationship if she was honest, but she was still pissed that it ended. There was no constant. And now even her damn husband was gone.

She missed two calls from Elena when she checked her phone, that she decided not to return. She felt for Elena right now, she was going through the same thing with Damon – he was still a vampire, not willing to kill his brother to be human with Elena, and it wasn't going to work out from there.

However, Caroline's paranoid little mind couldn't help but wonder if it was Elena's humanity and return that made Stefan become so distant. They were the humans. It was them that kept finding their way back to each other. Elena was Stefan's constant, not Caroline.

So, hours after signing her divorce papers, Caroline didn't really feel like talking to her right now.

Caroline checked the time and frowned. Five o'clock. She should probably be getting back to have dinner with Josie and Lizzie and put them to bed. She'd left it to Alaric last night and she didn't want her daughters to start asking where she was.

She got to her feet and realised just how tipsy she was. That tree was definitely swaying. Ah well, it would wear off soon. Vampires had killer tolerance. But she hoped she wasn't walking weirdly and passers-by thought she was a wino.

She reached the narrow road and stumbled slightly, giggling at how ironic that was. She walked a few feet, trying not to sway when a car pulled up next to her.

"Hey, need a ride?"

She turned and narrowed her eyes to make out the person in the drivers seat. Brunette, gorgeous, cardigan- Elena! Wait, no. When her vision focused she saw the more prominent cheek bones, lighter eyes and skinnier fingers. Hayley.

"My car…" Caroline started, gesturing some way down the road.

"I'll go back and pick it up when I get you home," Hayley offered.

Caroline considered it for a second before shrugging and getting into the passenger seat. "Okay, but don't snap my neck again."

"I promise."

They only drove for about a mile when Hayley asked: "Are you going to tell me why there are two empty wine bottles poking out of your bag?"

Caroline giggled. What a silly question. "I need to pee," she informed her.

Hayley laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine. What's going on?"

"Today was D-Day," Caroline said.

"D for Doom?"

"D for divorce papers," she explained. "Stefan and I are caput."

Hayley's face fell. "Oh, Caroline, I'm sorry."

"It is what it is," Caroline said, clearly stating she didn't want to talk any more about it. "It just sucks, you know?!" She exclaimed, changing her mind. "Like, okay, so I was engaged to Alaric and then we didn't work out because I loved Stefan and then Stefan proposed, and then we broke up, and then we got married anyway to lure out an enemy who – hey! – didn't even want to kill us anyway so I guess it was wasted. And I knew it wouldn't work out because he's human and I'm a vampire and Elena's living just around the corner, but the thing is this: I have that feeling with absolutely every guy. No one stays."

Hayley looked appalled. "Caroline, don't say that."

"No it's true," Caroline said. "You don't understand. Your husband would have done anything for you. He adored you. And Elijah was in love with you, and Tyler wanted you while he was with me, and even Klaus, when he was pining after me he was sleeping with you."

"Tyler never chose me over you," Hayley pointed out. "He loved you. So did Stefan, and Alaric would have stayed with you until his dying breath if you'd let him."

There was a pause. "And Klaus-"

"Hayley," Caroline interrupted, holding a finger up. "If I promise to stop feeling sorry for myself, can we skip this conversation?"

"Please."

They were silent for the rest of the way back until Hayley pulled up outside the Salvatore Boarding School and pulled the handbrake.

"How'd you feel?" Hayley asked.

"Sober," Caroline said, opening the door and getting out. "Don't worry about my car, I'll get it tomorrow morning."

There she was. Home.

She wished she could call any other place on this Earth 'home.'

But unfortunate, she had to walk through the same living room that she and Stefan shared, planning their wedding and dancing drunk. They had sex in front of that fireplace. They cooked dinner together in that kitchen. They ran up those stairs to their bedroom. Now it was her bedroom. She slept in the bed they shared and it still smelled like him. It shouldn't do. But it did.

#

The next morning was a busy day in the Salvatore Boarding School. The kids were finishing their first term of the year and parents were coming by to collect them. Each parent had a set parent/teacher appointment that day as well, while their kids were just packing up. Caroline did half, Alaric did half.

She knew every student by name, easy, but she had their folders on her desk anyway, in case she forgot anything she needed to tell them.

"Aidan's a wonderful kid, good grades, gets along with the other children. There was an incident last week where he bit his classmate but we had a cure on hand. Next term we're going to put him in our anger-management cause. No this isn't bad, most werewolves take it at some point-"

"Yes, Claire's doing so well with her hex classes, and she's learning really fast. Unfortunately, there is something to be said about how often she practises on teachers when they give her a B-"

"Ken's doing great at controlling his magic, no incidents with the other children or teachers, but his grades are slipping so can you just make sure he's getting his homework done this break, and if it continues we'll consider pairing him with a tutor-"

She stacked her files in order of done and undone, and leaned back in her chair while her office was empty, taking advantage of having a minute for herself. She sipped her water and looked out the window for a minute at all the supernatural beings leaving for home. Then she checked which child she had next.

Hope Mikaelson.

Oh damn.

She flicked through the girls file for a minute and walked to her door, opening it and turning right to the cue of parents. Klaus was in the front, reading something on his phone which he lowered when he saw her.

"Hi, come on in," she greeted with a smile.

Don't say it, she prayed internally.

She closed the door behind them and they took a seat around her desk as she opened the file. "Where's Hayley this morning? I thought I'd be seeing the both of you."

Don't say it.

"She and Hope are looking at nearby houses for sale," Klaus explained, leaning back in the chair and resting one ankle on his knee, getting very comfortable in her office which made her frown. "The mansion my siblings and I used to inhabit is apparently not suitable for a small child. Plus, I made it for my siblings, who can't be here with us."

Caroline nodded, sighing to herself. "Yeah, I was sorry to hear that. So, Hope seems to be settling in alright so far-"

Don't say it.

"She seems to be making friends alright with other witches, but we have some other werewolf kids I'd like to get her to start playing with next semester-"

Don't say it.

"It's always good for them to have people to relate to, so I've mixed up her classes' seating charts to encourage this."

"Caroline," Klaus said, when her sentence came to a close. "Can I just say how sorry I am to hear about your divorce."

Damn, he said it.

Liar. He was probably thrilled.

"Hayley told you," Caroline determined. "Well, I see there's no sense of loyalty in adult female friendships these days. Look, can we just keep this meeting professional, please? I don't need to talk about this with you. Anyway, like I was saying, Hope's grades are getting off to a good start, and at her age we don't really need to monitor them and we don't set homework yet- what?"

Klaus was laughing.

Bastard.

"Sweetheart, you can't pretend you don't know me," he explained. "You're not just my daughter's headmistress. We were friends once."

"Well for the twenty minutes of this meeting, I am just your daughter's headmistress, okay?" Caroline declared. "Anyway, I was going to say I want to put Hope into Occult Studies to learn a bit more about vampirism in case any vampire traits start to show themselves – this is my job!" Klaus was still trying to stifle a laugh. "You understand? This is my career."

Klaus tried to pull a straight face but didn't manage and Caroline threw Hope's folder at him. "Stop laughing!" This just made him laugh harder. "Seriously, how is this so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry," Klaus said, somewhat sincerely. "It's just like old times."

She hid her smile and pulled a very serious face. "It's not funny," she repeated. "Now, can I continue?"

"Please."

"I wanted your opinion on whether Occult Studies would be a bit much for Hope to handle at this point in time, with her other lessons," she continued. "We could add a few extra hours a week onto her schedule, or because she's excelling in English, we could cut some of her lessons out and move her to Occult Studies-"

To be fair, she did sound like she was trying too hard to be professional after all they'd been through. Out of all the things they could be talking about, what were the odds it ended up being his daughter?

"Okay, fine," she said, hiding her grin behind her hand. "Maybe it's a little funny. But maybe your laughter is just contagious."

"I'll try to behave," Klaus promised. "I think minimising her English sounds good for a while, we could also be very open to talking about vampirism at home. At this time, she's no stranger to it."

"Got it," Caroline said with a nod. "Has she thought about extracurricular? I think she could do really well in art." She smiled at Klaus then, knowing the passion was inherited.

"Sounds great," Klaus said with a nod. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, pass me her folder," Caroline said, trying not to smirk as Klaus collected up all the papers she'd thrown at him off his lap and gave them back to her to order. "Some parents were concerned about Hope becoming their kid's friend due to her background. I talked them into accepting it and I gave a few of them your phone number so they could arrange play dates and get to see the three of you work as a family. See for themselves that you're not so bad. Here's a list of parents, their information, a few things about their kid and their friendship with Hope."

She handed them a piece of paper and thanked God that they got through that meeting mostly like professionals.

"Of course, you'll have to convince them that you're just a happy family," she added.

"We can try," Klaus agreed, taking the list and skimming it. "But if their prejudice affects my child's happiness in anyway-"

"It won't," Caroline promised. "I won't let it, but you need to be open. Members of the community, you know? Let them in so they're not afraid of you."

She got out of her seat as she spoke and walked around her desk to open the door, gesturing at Klaus to leave. He did so, but lingered in the doorway for a second, inches away from her and waited like he wanted to say more, he just had to find the words. But eventually, he gave up and left her alone.

Back at her desk the only files left were those of her own daughters which she just had to review sometime over the next few days. Now though, she took this opportunity for another break. Because even the smallest bit of work was exhausting.

She texted Alaric: Can the girls stay at yours tonight? I need some time alone to breathe.

He obliged. And when every child left to go home, Alaric went back to his apartment with their daughters, and Caroline was left in that big old house that she'd once shared with Stefan.

Her car was parked outside, probably thanks to Hayley, and she took off for a drive, going past all the pretty sights Mystic Falls had and going in lanes faster than usual for the sake of it. She turned her music up as loud at it would go and sang while she danced, trusting her faster instincts and reflexes to keep her safe past all the distractions.

#

The next few weeks were challenging for Caroline. She lost the person she loved the most, and she didn't have anywhere to go but his own home. She didn't want to sleep on Alaric's couch because she didn't want her kids knowing how much pain she was in and it wasn't exactly appropriate to sleep in his bed after all they'd been through.

So she spent most of her time in her office, going through paperwork and compiling a thoroughly detailed action plan for each individual child that would make them happiest at their school. She interviewed three candidates for a teaching position, signed for packages of jars, herbs and candles for the witches, restocked the basement full of blood bags for the vampires and caught up with all of her old friends, convincing them that she was doing just fine.

She went to Alaric's every evening to have dinner with her kids and read them a bedtime story.

She also hunted for three-bedroom apartments – God forbid Josie and Lizzie share a bedroom – and toured a few places with her girls to see what they thought. She also bought a new car because she could and took her kids on a hectic trip to IKEA which resulted in one of the fake kitchens being burned down and three employees losing their jobs.

Which meant that school couldn't have restarted any later.

While stressed about all the kids and preteens flooding into her school on the first day, Caroline couldn't help but be glad about it. It meant she wasn't lonely in that building anymore.

Although she spent most of the day inside, trying to avoid one particular parent. He found her nonetheless.

She let her guard down for a second to watch Lizzie and Josie run around and play with Hope, and in a second he had appeared over her shoulder to speak in her ear.

"Don't you think it's a coincidence," he mused, "that the first two vampires ever able to procreate happen to know each other intimately and both had their children within two years of one another?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, pushing him away with her elbow. "First of all, we don't know each other intimately. Second of all, technically I didn't procreate in the conventional sense. Biologically, the girls aren't mine."

Klaus looked appalled at this thought. "Are you to tell me your head doesn't get heavy and full with worry the minute they're in hot water? You mean to say that your heart doesn't skip a beat when you so much as see them? You're not filled with serotonin the moment they reach another milestone? The biology's all there, sweetheart. You're their mother."

She watched his lips move as he spoke before turning back to their girls.

"You know, last year I was in trouble," she informed him. "I was scared. I put the girls in the car and I drove to the only place I knew we'd be safe. New Orleans." She watched him as he looked surprised, which turned into a look of pride. "I mean, you weren't there. But I guess we're more than just a professional parent/teacher relationship."

There was a pause before Klaus replied: "I wish I was there, Caroline. I wish we all were. New Orleans was fantastic. I wish you had a real chance to know my family, see us at our best. There was and always will be space for you in my home."

Caroline turned away, looking anywhere but him. He had to bring up 'home' as if that wasn't a sensitive subject with her already. Her eyes were growing hot with emotion, which she didn't want him to pick up on. It was a stupid, throwaway comment. He'd made so many ones over the last nine eight years. Why was she getting emotional now?!

"Caroline?" Klaus asked, noticing this and pulling her arm to get her to face him.

"It's nothing," she said instantly. "It's stupid. It's just, um, this," she lied, gesturing to the parents and children in the room, "is getting to me. And it's been a rough few weeks, you know? Anyway, ignore me, I'm being silly."

"You're not silly," Klaus defended. "Stefan?"

Caroline met his eye again and nodded slowly.

The truth was, Stefan had promised that this would be her home. The big old boarding house. It would be theirs together. Now he left her there with her school. But it wasn't her home. She didn't exactly have one of those anymore. And how sad was it that the man who killed off so much of her town's population was the only man who cared about her?

"Caroline, when I last saw Stefan I told him that if he couldn't do right by you then to leave you. You might find that that's what he's trying to do," Klaus explained. He clearly didn't want to say the wrong thing or throw a stereotype at her. "For what it's worth, I am truly sorry."

This time she believed him. "Thank you."

"What I've learned over the last few years is that it doesn't matter who you are; someone out there will love you," he continued. "And I believe that many, many people will love you, sweetheart. In your case loneliness is a choice. And you may have lost a husband, but if you need a friend I'm here."

She went to say thank you again but didn't want to sound like a broken record, so she just smiled. And for the first time in a long time, it was genuine.

"A few years ago I would never have this talk with you," she claimed. "I mean, I know you liked me. But you were so scary. You've… changed. I like this Klaus."

"I don't think I've changed that much," Klaus denied.

"I do," she said, looking back to their daughters. "You're right, it is weird. But I guess it's a good thing because now they get to know each other. They're not alone in the… miracle baby boat."

Klaus smirked. "I'm glad."

"Caroline," Alaric called from across the room, carrying a large stack of paperwork. "I need you training the new teachers."

Caroline nodded at him and smiled again at Klaus before walking away in much better spirits.

#

A month passed and Caroline and Klaus had been texting. They didn't have too long to chat throughout the week as Caroline had a school to run and was constantly travelling to seek out troubled kids. But Klaus would text her every few days to check up on her. And their conversations would always go the same way.

Klaus: How are you feeling?

Caroline: Good, thanks. You?

Klaus: Hayley and I moved into the old mansion my family used to own.

Caroline: I'm sure Hope likes all the space to play.

Klaus: We're in all week if you need us to babysit.

Caroline would never admit this to anyone, but it made her raise an eyebrow when he said that. 'We'. She'd never really given much thought to it, but their last few conversations he'd been anything but flirty. He said he was there if she needed a friend. Now he lived with Hayley and their child together, and Hayley's last boyfriend was in France and her husband was dead. And it made total sense, actually. A mother and a father and a daughter. A family. Caroline and Alaric had been drawn to each other when they had the twins. They even got engaged.

What if Klaus and Hayley were an item? He used the royal 'we'. And they'd be cooped up in that big old house while Hope was at school.

Oh God, Klaus and Hayley.

Caroline didn't want to be in another relationship so soon – especially with Klaus.

Except that he was still hers! He was the only adult she could rely on. That she felt like she could truly trust. His texts always made her grin, his presence always cheered her up. He'd changed into a good, decent man. And Hayley had snatched that man up. Caroline was sure of it.

Caroline was taking the girls dress shopping in early December as she came to this realisation. And, as if on cue, she ran into the very trio she'd hoped to be avoiding.

They looked like such a picture. The handsome dad, the beautiful mom, and the daughter who was the spitting image of them both.

"Okay girls, one dress each, and it has to be pale green," Caroline instructed before letting her twins loose on the poor shop, doing a quick prayer for the retail assistants.

"Is that for the occasion I think it is?" Klaus mused, separating from Hayley and Hope to talk to her.

"Yeah, I was going to text you," Caroline informed him. "I mean, you knew I had an invitation, but Rebekah called me last night to ask if Lizzie and Josie wanted to be flower girls."

"They'll be positively adorable," Klaus claimed.

Caroline smiled. "Are you giving her away?"

"Well, I'm the only family that can make it," he confirmed. "Hayley's maid of honour. Hope, of course, won't be able to attend, but they've decided to facetime her in, and she insists on getting dressed up for the occasion."

"She can't go to her aunts wedding, the least you can do is buy her a pretty dress," she stated, looking over his shoulder at some of the ones Hayley and Hope were looking at. "I like that you get the shopping done early."

Klaus chuckled, as if this was amusing to him. "I have two sisters, Hayley, and over the last thousand years I've dated a number of women. It's my understanding that the dress needs to be bought early so it can be returned, exchanged, exchanged back, exchanged again and tailored twice before it can be worn."

Caroline giggled and nodded. "That's about right."

"So, Hayley and I were discussing this last night and I thought I'd ask a true Mystic Falls socialite," he mused, "at what age do they start going to real events? See, throughout the centuries, I've found that girls tend to show up at balls at age twelve to thirteen, as it was then their fathers would look into auctioning them off. However, that's not quite my intention."

Caroline laughed again. "Generally, High School. But it changes every year, so just figure out what the other parents are doing. You don't want Hope to be left out, trust me. Hope's at the Boarding School though, so about fourteen to fifteen."

"Wonderful, so I don't have to supply my home with a ballgown for each week for another seven years," Klaus determined.

"Mystic Falls isn't exactly influential on the map," she noted, "but at least we know how to party."

She wanted to say something else. But she didn't figure out what. And the silence lasted only a couple of seconds but it was long enough for Hayley to chime in and ask for Klaus's opinion on a dress Hope liked. Klaus re-joined them and they filled that perfect picture.

Lizzie and Josie ran into her, colliding hard with her legs. And while it made her heart skip a beat to see her children, they were unconventional and silly and messy. And they weren't the perfect picture that Caroline was only beginning to realise that she wanted.

Klaus was the one man who picked her before any of her friends. Who wasn't interested in Elena or Bonnie or Katherine first. He had wanted her. And she'd pushed him away so hard for so long that now, he was with someone else. Someone who was effortlessly beautiful and didn't even try…

"How about we try these ones on, girls?" Caroline asked, leading the twins to the changing rooms and trying to forget about it.

AN: No, Klaus is not dating Hayley, Caroline's just insecure. Please review. I'll see you next time. -Izzy